Chapter 5

I officially hate meetings.

I hate listening to the debates going back and forth, hate that we have to make these decisions that lead to skirmishes and then deaths.

Back in school, I always loved to give my opinion. Everything was simple. Right or wrong. Any doubts? Check a textbook, or go to the library for an outside source.

But there is no book on locations of the Death Eaters. There's no book that can give us the answers to our questions. Should we attack? Set up an ambush? Where is Lord Voldemort? Who can we trust? What should we do next?

I hate meetings.

Blaise finishes the description of his encounter with Draco Malfoy in Godric's Hollow last night.

I still don't understand. What was he doing there?

George voices my unspoken question.

"I don't know what he was doing," Blaise says. "Why is that so important?"

"He was in my old house. I want to know what he was doing rooting around in there," Harry says heatedly.

It's been two weeks since the fiasco at the Leaky Cauldron and my narrow escape from Hogwarts, and Harry has made a full recovery. Ginny, sitting beside him, was elated when he could finally stand up and walk around.

"I don't know what he was doing," Blaise repeats. "I'm sorry, Harry. I just feel that since he let me go, alive, there's a possibility that he'll make good on his offer to give us information."

"We could use the information. Mundungus isn't really that reliable," says Tonks.

She's still bitter about the burning that Lupin took for her.

"The Malfoys have always been a slippery family," Kingsley Shacklebolt says in his deep voice.

He's sitting at the far end of the table and acts as a sort of unofficial leader of the Order.

"I don't trust that boy," he continues. "Even if he's sincere right now, I'm willing to bet that it's only because circumstances favor supporting the Order against Voldemort for the time being. As soon as those circumstances begin to change, he'll turn against us."

"I'm telling you," Blaise says, "he was my best friend for years. We're honest with each other."

"But you've been apart for such a long time. How do you know he hasn't changed?" Ginny challenges him.

"I just know."

"I'm afraid just knowing isn't enough," Shacklebolt says. "I don't know how much more reliable gut feeling is than Mundungus's reports."

"Malfoy gave you that scar on your back, didn't he?" Ron says to Blaise.

"I didn't leave him unmarked, either," Blaise replies. "I say that we should at least give him the chance to talk to us. We've gotten nowhere without inside information. Without a spy, it's impossible to know what they're planning."

Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff in my year who joined the Order at the Battle of Hogwarts, speaks up. "But we've got Trelawney—"

I hold back a snort.

Sybill Trelawney still isn't credible in my book. I don't care if she was the one who made the prophecy about Harry and Voldemort. Divination as a subject is simply laughable.

"And a right lot of good she's doing with her so-called Sight," McGonagall says, expressing my thoughts. "She may be my friend, but she cannot use her powers at will. Without Severus, this war is getting more and more perilous. I think we can risk this."

Blaise looks surprised that he has McGonagall's support.

"Trusting a Malfoy?" says George, the one-eared twin.

"Are you daft?" Fred finishes.

"Honestly, McGonagall," says Lee Jordan. "You remember how he was at school, don't you?"

"We are in a war, boys," McGonagall says sternly. "It's about time you put House prejudices past you and started considering the entire picture."

"If we do go through with this," Lupin says, "we shouldn't let Harry go on his own. He'll have to have someone escorting him."

"I'm not a child," Harry protests.

"Yes, but you are too valuable to be put in danger so carelessly," says Shacklebolt.

"I could go with him," Ron offers.

Hotheaded as he is, I have to admit that he has improved at dueling and wouldn't be a bad choice for Harry to bring along—the two of them work remarkably well together due to their close friendship. I could never work with either of them as seamlessly as they work with each other.

"Are we really going to trust Malfoy?" asks Angelina from her seat beside Fred.

"We don't trust him," Shacklebolt says. "Harry and Ron will meet him to see what he has to say. If he seems trustworthy, they will render him unconscious and bring him here, so that there will be no risk of breaking the Fidelius Charm."

"But won't the Fidelius Charm prevent Malfoy from revealing this location anyway, since he isn't a Secret-Keeper?" Ron asks.

"If a Secret-Keeper is killed, then every person that he or she told will become a new Secret-Keeper," I remind him.

"Right."

Shacklebolt continues, "We will question and examine him. If we decide he is trustworthy—"

"Excuse me, but how exactly do you plan to do that?" Blaise asks. "Draco's always been naturally talented at Occlumency. We can't just break into his mind."

"We'll see about that," Shacklebolt says.

Then Mundungus appears, and I barely stop myself from going to strangle him. From the looks of other fellow Hogwarts students at the table, I'm not the only one who has these thoughts. He gave us faulty information that caused three deaths. It's going to take a lot for me to forgive him.

He starts reporting some information that he received from a group of smugglers that he's been traveling with this past week, and my mind begins to turn restlessly again.

"I can't wait to kill that bloody ferret," Ron snarls, pacing back and forth.

Harry, Ron and I are inside the boys' room. The Order meeting ended a short while ago, and we came up here to discuss the boys' impending meeting with Draco. We cast the Muffliato charm on the room a few minutes ago so that we could speak without worrying about being heard.

"You're not going there to kill him," I point out.

"In all likelihood, he's just trying to lure Harry there to kill him," Ron says. "And if that's the case, of course I get to kill him."

"We do need information," Harry says. "As much as I hate Malfoy, we could use him."

I nod in agreement. "I want you two to be careful. You're both rash, and you know it. Don't put yourselves in danger unnecessarily."

"Yes, Mother," they chorus.

I reach out to smack Harry, but he dodges the blow, and I hit Ron instead. Well, I was going for him next anyway.

"Hey!" Ron says. "You're abusive."

Then the door swings open, and Blaise looks at us, surprised.

"I thought no one was in here," he says. Then he grins. "You lot are getting sloppy. First you forget to cast a Muffling Charm, and now you're forgetting to lock doors."

"Shove it, Zabini," says Ron.

He shrugs and starts to leave, but Harry stops him.

"Blaise, wait."

Blaise turns around. "Yeah?"

"I think it might be helpful if we know a little more about Malfoy's abilities. And since you're his best friend—"

"Hey, I haven't had a proper conversation with him in years," Blaise says as he reenters the room and shuts the door behind him. "Honestly, I don't know much about how his abilities have grown in all this time. But there is one thing I want to warn you about. He seems to have learned something that allows him to stop us from using our wands."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "I've never heard of any sort of magic like that."

"I'm not sure what it is. I have a hunch that he might have to touch a wand in order to control it. But when I saw him, the first thing he did was Disarm me. He gave my wand back right away, but later on, when he threw me back against a wall, I couldn't block the spell."

My eyes widen. Harry and Ron look surprised as well.

"What do you mean, you couldn't block the spell?" Harry asks.

"I had the intention of using a Shield Charm, and it didn't work."

"Maybe you're just rusty," Ron says.

"Nonsense," Blaise snaps. "I'm excellent at nonverbal magic, and you know it."

"Yeah, there's no way Blaise would screw up a Shield Charm," Harry says to Ron.

Blaise takes one look at me and says, with a sly grin, "I bet Hermione's wishing for that Hogwarts library right about now."

I punch him in the shoulder, and he laughs.

"Don't laugh at me," I say. "Besides, wouldn't all of you like to know how he does that as well?"

"So I guess my best piece of advice for you two is, don't let him get a hold of your wand," Blaise says.

"Do you think it's some sort of Dark magic, then?" Ron asks.

"Probably," Blaise replies.

There's an awkward pause. Then I pull the door open and shove Blaise out of the room.

"We're going across the hall to discuss something," I say. "You two should probably talk out some sort of strategy for facing Malfoy. I'll come back in a few minutes."

Harry and Ron exchange surprised glances, but before they can comment, I exit the room and shut the door behind me. Blaise is looking at me with an amused expression. I cross the landing to the room that I share with Ginny and pull the door open.

"Get inside," I say.

He enters without complaint, and I push the door closed behind me when I'm inside.

"Muffliato."

"What are we talking about?" he asks.

"Do you have any idea who—"

"Still worrying about the Death Eater who set you free?"

I sigh. "Yes. Did you find anything out yet?"

He looks at me with something akin to sorrow in his eyes.

"What? Is it something awful?"

"No, no," he says quickly. "I haven't found anything out yet. I just don't like to see you bothering yourself so much about this."

I feel disappointed that he hasn't identified the Death Eater yet. But I suppose it is asking a bit much to expect him to determine the identity of a Death Eater from one of their standard cloaks.

"Relax a bit, Hermione." He pauses, and then a grin spreads across his face. "Maybe I can help you with that."

I roll my eyes and open the door. "Go on, get out."

He exits the room, and I follow him out.

"Zabini!" Lupin calls from the foot of the stairs. "I was about to go looking for you. Can I have a word with you?"

"Sure," Blaise says. He flashes a smile at me before starting down the stairs.

I cross the landing to reenter the boys' room.

I wonder if Draco Malfoy would really turn spy for the Order. Not bloody likely. It's probably best to start planning ahead, coming up with ways for Harry and Ron to defeat him in a duel.

Author's Note: This is a warning! I'm feeling somewhat uninspired at the moment, and while I do have the next two or three chapters lined up, I'll probably slow down my updating so that I don't run out of chapters to post too soon. Sorry about that! I'll definitely let you all know ahead of time if I have to put this on hiatus to find inspiration.

If you haven't already checked it out, I'd like to recommend my other chapter story, Vengeance. The chapters are considerably longer than these ones, but I really enjoyed writing it and I'd love it if you'd give it a chance.